5,000 miles on PP. Winter driving and cold starts. Put in early october 2009, changed mid april. Seems very high quality. Can was thick and sturdy, the base was very thick and strong. ADBV was fully functional, it was completely full of oil between the can and media. The pleats were still strong and mostly straight, very little deflection. The media is extremely solidly attatched to the endcaps, no way to remove them without damaging the filter. Made in USA. Very nice, have absolutely no qualms about using again.

here's the story. Rock Auto had some "End of Stock" filters for my car, also listed was the same filter # in "WIX". that seemed odd so i called Rock Auto. sales person tells me they are private label filters that was the end of stock, but she could not tell me what label they were. the end-of-stock filters were about 70% less $$ than the "WIX" filter.

since Rock Auto couldnt tell me anything about these discounted filters i then called the WIX hotline and asked about private label filters, told the rep the same above. she kept telling me WIX does not make private label filters.

so i went ahead anyways and bought the end-of-stock filters from Rock Auto, when i got them the filters were in "Big A by WIX" boxes and the filter themselves had "Big A by WIX" logo on them. i was suspecting that these filters may have been when Dana owned WIX, and now that Affinia Group Inc owns WIX i thought that WIX might have stopped doing private label filters. the filters i got were in boxes that looked old, like they have been moved around a lot, sitting on the shelf for years, etc.

i do see this on Affinia website back from 2008:"WIX was also honored by the Alliance with four other awards: Bronze Outstanding Shipping Performance Award for 95% Fill Rate– WIX Filters; Bronze Outstanding Shipping Performance Award for 95% Fill Rate - Parts Master Filters made by WIX; Outstanding Private Label Vendor - Parts Master Filters made by WIX; and Outstanding Manpower Support - WIX Filters."

i'll call WIX again and ask.... but the WIX person i spoke to was very confident that WIX does not make private label filters....

Gary-the answer will be Affinia Group not Wix even though Wix is a division of Affinia. The hotline at Wix is "technically" correct. There is a different hotline for Napa Gold, Carquest even though they go into the same call center. Just a marketing game by Affinia.

I guess if they want to split hairs about it, then it's true that "Wix" doesn't make those other filters, but the truth of the matter is that NAPA Gold, Wix, Kralinator and Carquest Premium are all identical filters made by the same company (formerly Dana, now Affinia) to identical specs (just with different labels on the can)

well shiat, just when we thought NAPA was the same as WIX we find discrepencies in data.

this website has a comaparison chart(s). someone needs to tell Fleetfilter they need a spell checker, what the F is "Comprison"? anyways, look at the 1st comparison chart, NAPA Gold 1060 vs WIX 51060, specs are not the same. weird.

but when i look up these filters on napafilters and wixfilters dot com they show same specs.

Just about all the parts at NAPA are being made in China now. I don't like offbrands or housebrands especially when the company making it doesn't even want to admit to it. NAPA is hit or miss on parts and what few quality and obscure parts they have are pretty pricey, if not for the discount I get. About all they are good for is buying coolant. Anyway I just don't see what the appeal is of NAPA Golds with their low efficiency and off-branding.

Just about all the parts at NAPA are being made in China now. I don't like offbrands or housebrands especially when the company making it doesn't even want to admit to it. NAPA is hit or miss on parts and what few quality and obscure parts they have are pretty pricey, if not for the discount I get. About all they are good for is buying coolant. Anyway I just don't see what the appeal is of NAPA Golds with their low efficiency and off-branding.

Not a single part I've gotten from NAPA was made in China. The wheel bearing was made in USA, the muffler hangar was made in Canada, the brake pads dad got for the Jeep were made in Canada. I sent an email to wix/affinia asking about the manufacture location of these and the filters for the expedition/mustang and they said they were made in North Carolina. The NAPA wiper blades I bought last summer were Made in the USA.

Wix, in one form or another still makes/provides NAPA with all the NAPA labeled filters. That is unless we lost the NAPA business after 5:00PM today.

so Affinia has non-WIX production rolling down WIX production lines? please explain what you mean by "in one form or another".

i made note of that Fleetfilter comparison and the two filters were different.... different types of springs, and different media. so if WIX and NAPA are the same then why do they have different insides??

Obviously the Wix and the NapaGold filters are identical, except for the weight which could be attributed to the glue that hold the pleats to the end caps.

Wix/NapaGold uses a coil spring rather than a leaf spring; a coil spring keeps better pressure against the end cap. The ends of the coil should be bent inwards to prevent damage to the can.Wix/NapaGold uses metal end caps rather than the fiberboard end caps.The filter media inside the Wix/NapaGold was glued to itself, rather than crimped with a metal bracket.The Wix/NapaGold filter has a phenolic resin which binds the media together while still keeping them separated for proper filtration. In addition, the resin helps protect the pleats from high temperatures.The center tube of the Wix/NapaGold filter is spiraled for better flow; other brands use a straight tube with spot welds.The Wix/NapaGold filter uses a silicon anti-drain back valve which is less likely to break down than the nitrile rubber valves. The anti-drain back valve is used to prevent oil from draining back to the crankcase after shutdown.NOTES:

Wix makes the filters for Napa - therefore, a NapaGold and a Wix are identical.They are made on the same production line, only the Napa filters end up in a different packaging department.

Don’t confuse the NapaGold with the Napa ProSelect (Napa’s lower line of filters, see comparison here) – both are made by Wix, but the quality is not the same. Wix has production facilities in Poland as well; some of the European-make automotive filters come from their production plant there.

Not a single part I've gotten from NAPA was made in China. The wheel bearing was made in USA, the muffler hangar was made in Canada, the brake pads dad got for the Jeep were made in Canada. I sent an email to wix/affinia asking about the manufacture location of these and the filters for the expedition/mustang and they said they were made in North Carolina. The NAPA wiper blades I bought last summer were Made in the USA.

Just about all of NAPA's "new and improved" brake pads and discs are from China now. Like it or not, NAPA is converting to Chinese suppliers at a rapid rate.

Just about all the parts at NAPA are being made in China now. I don't like offbrands or housebrands especially when the company making it doesn't even want to admit to it. NAPA is hit or miss on parts and what few quality and obscure parts they have are pretty pricey, if not for the discount I get. About all they are good for is buying coolant. Anyway I just don't see what the appeal is of NAPA Golds with their low efficiency and off-branding.

Not a single part I've gotten from NAPA was made in China. The wheel bearing was made in USA, the muffler hangar was made in Canada, the brake pads dad got for the Jeep were made in Canada. I sent an email to wix/affinia asking about the manufacture location of these and the filters for the expedition/mustang and they said they were made in North Carolina. The NAPA wiper blades I bought last summer were Made in the USA.

You must not buy a lot of parts from Napa because a lot of them are made in China. NAPA is sneaky about it too. They repackage things in a made in USA wrapper but the parts themselves are made in China.

Obviously the Wix and the NapaGold filters are identical, except for the weight which could be attributed to the glue that hold the pleats to the end caps.

Wix/NapaGold uses a coil spring rather than a leaf spring; a coil spring keeps better pressure against the end cap. The ends of the coil should be bent inwards to prevent damage to the can.Wix/NapaGold uses metal end caps rather than the fiberboard end caps.The filter media inside the Wix/NapaGold was glued to itself, rather than crimped with a metal bracket.The Wix/NapaGold filter has a phenolic resin which binds the media together while still keeping them separated for proper filtration. In addition, the resin helps protect the pleats from high temperatures.The center tube of the Wix/NapaGold filter is spiraled for better flow; other brands use a straight tube with spot welds.The Wix/NapaGold filter uses a silicon anti-drain back valve which is less likely to break down than the nitrile rubber valves. The anti-drain back valve is used to prevent oil from draining back to the crankcase after shutdown.NOTES:

Wix makes the filters for Napa - therefore, a NapaGold and a Wix are identical.They are made on the same production line, only the Napa filters end up in a different packaging department.

Don’t confuse the NapaGold with the Napa ProSelect (Napa’s lower line of filters, see comparison here) – both are made by Wix, but the quality is not the same. Wix has production facilities in Poland as well; some of the European-make automotive filters come from their production plant there.

yeah, they are identical, "except" for the few items like different springs, different media (the report on their site quotes media with different # of pleats), different glue, some dimensional differences (according to their own report). how can they say "identical" when their report says otherwise?

yeah, they are identical, "except" for the few items like different springs, different media (the report on their site quotes media with different # of pleats), different glue, some dimensional differences (according to their own report). how can they say "identical" when their report says otherwise?

I'll try to make this as clear as I can.WIX and NAPA gold filters are IDENTICAL except for the graphics and packaging. Both are assembled, labeled and packaged on the same assembly lines. If Wix does not produce a particular filter it is outsourced to WIX specifications. It is re badged packaged and sold as a Wix NAPA or what ever private label uses the Wix construction as their premium product line. Wix owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Venezuela, China, Poland, Gastonia NC and Dillon SC and soon India. The products manufactured in these facililities are built using the exact same standards as the ones built in Gastonia or Dillon.

Now, supply me with the name of the Wix employee that told you that Wix does not produce private label filters and I'll get that problem straightened out. Show me a Wix, NAPA or any other Wix manufactured filter that does not use a coil spring. I don't care what some sales jerk on Fleet Filter says, I've been in The filter manufacturing business for 33 years this July 3rd and, as most that have delt with me know, have never pushed my employer over any other of our competitors. But your line is just to stinking for me to be silent. It's time for you to put up or shut up!!

_________________________
... ahhhh, it's great to be old! AND Retired...

yeah, they are identical, "except" for the few items like different springs, different media (the report on their site quotes media with different # of pleats), different glue, some dimensional differences (according to their own report). how can they say "identical" when their report says otherwise?

I'll try to make this as clear as I can.WIX and NAPA gold filters are IDENTICAL except for the graphics and packaging. Both are assembled, labeled and packaged on the same assembly lines. If Wix does not produce a particular filter it is outsourced to WIX specifications. It is re badged packaged and sold as a Wix NAPA or what ever private label uses the Wix construction as their premium product line. Wix owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Venezuela, China, Poland, Gastonia NC and Dillon SC and soon India. The products manufactured in these facililities are built using the exact same standards as the ones built in Gastonia or Dillon.

Now, supply me with the name of the Wix employee that told you that Wix does not produce private label filters and I'll get that problem straightened out. Show me a Wix, NAPA or any other Wix manufactured filter that does not use a coil spring. I don't care what some sales jerk on Fleet Filter says, I've been in The filter manufacturing business for 33 years this July 3rd and, as most that have delt with me know, have never pushed my employer over any other of our competitors. But your line is just to stinking for me to be silent. It's time for you to put up or shut up!!

Calm down it's at fleetfilter.com, here is the specific comp they did:

yeah, they are identical, "except" for the few items like different springs, different media (the report on their site quotes media with different # of pleats), different glue, some dimensional differences (according to their own report). how can they say "identical" when their report says otherwise?

I'll try to make this as clear as I can.WIX and NAPA gold filters are IDENTICAL except for the graphics and packaging. Both are assembled, labeled and packaged on the same assembly lines. If Wix does not produce a particular filter it is outsourced to WIX specifications. It is re badged packaged and sold as a Wix NAPA or what ever private label uses the Wix construction as their premium product line. Wix owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Venezuela, China, Poland, Gastonia NC and Dillon SC and soon India. The products manufactured in these facililities are built using the exact same standards as the ones built in Gastonia or Dillon.

Now, supply me with the name of the Wix employee that told you that Wix does not produce private label filters and I'll get that problem straightened out. Show me a Wix, NAPA or any other Wix manufactured filter that does not use a coil spring. I don't care what some sales jerk on Fleet Filter says, I've been in The filter manufacturing business for 33 years this July 3rd and, as most that have delt with me know, have never pushed my employer over any other of our competitors. But your line is just to stinking for me to be silent. It's time for you to put up or shut up!!

Calm down it's at fleetfilter.com, here is the specific comp they did:

Weird, the text compares that wix is "leaf spring"Napa gold lists "coil spring"But in the pictures, both have coil springs.I don't know if I would trust much of the info in that comparison if they can't figure out the difference between coil and leaf springs.

and yeah, the pics show coil spring on both.... i wonder how fleetfilter got the # of pleats different along with dimensional diff's between the media?

Originally Posted By: Pete C.

Now, supply me with the name of the Wix employee that told you that Wix does not produce private label filters and I'll get that problem straightened out.

just call the WIX hotline and ask if WIX makes private label filters. i did some time ago and i was told "no", and i sounded like a broken record because i asked about 5 times because i was trying to validate what Rock Auto was selling.

Number of pleats on the construction/assembly drawing for a Wix/Napa (5)1060 specifies 58 +/- 2 .750 deep pleats. Paper width is 4.125". Fleet filter can guess at stuff all they want, but facts are facts and now you have them.

If you look at the pictures of the ripped apart filters you will see that they just tore the bedia out of the endcaps leaving about 0.1875" and 0.250" of media stuck in the adhesive.

Edited by Pete C. (05/12/1011:57 AM)

_________________________
... ahhhh, it's great to be old! AND Retired...

Number of pleats on the construction/assembly drawing for a Wix/Napa (5)1060 specifies 58 +/- 2 .750 deep pleats. Paper width is 4.125". Fleet filter can guess at stuff all they want, but facts are facts and now you have them.

But didnt you just do that here? thats waay more then any other manufacture would have said.

Wix owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Venezuela, China, Poland, Gastonia NC and Dillon SC and soon India. The products manufactured in these facililities are built using the exact same standards as the ones built in Gastonia or Dillon.

Thats why I never understand why people say they won't buy a filter made from China or Mexico.

Wix owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Venezuela, China, Poland, Gastonia NC and Dillon SC and soon India. The products manufactured in these facililities are built using the exact same standards as the ones built in Gastonia or Dillon.

Thats why I never understand why people say they won't buy a filter made from China or Mexico.

Wix owns manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Venezuela, China, Poland, Gastonia NC and Dillon SC and soon India. The products manufactured in these facililities are built using the exact same standards as the ones built in Gastonia or Dillon.

Thats why I never understand why people say they won't buy a filter made from China or Mexico.

I would not say that there is great variation at all locations of a specific mfr's plants BUT often times the degree and enforcement of quality controls and suppliers quality can vary greatly and the bottom line is that China and their business practices are known for large amounts of corruption. It's just that simple. Another issues is employee pay....If I earned the slave wages that a typical Chinese worker earned I'd not be too interested in doing a good job....I wonder how that Chinese employee feels about living on a dirt floor and working a minimum of 6 days a week all the time?!?!?!?

It's the principle. The Chinese filters or anything else made in China is not a good value. If you buy things made in China, you lose jobs and revenue. Then you have to become like China in order to have a job. The slighly loweser price is still a rip-off, and I'm not convinced the quality is the same either.